Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Beside me, Enya whimpers again, but it’s not fear—she’s calling him something nasty in Russian that I don’t understand. Her eyes are hard and sharp.
“Now, now, no need for name-calling,” Boris says, turning his attention to her. “This is how it has to be.”
He removes his gun from the breast pocket of his suit and sits it on the table in front of him. Fear blasts through me, and I have to bite back a cry of panic. I let out a rough breath in an attempt to control my quivering chin.
God, he’s going to kill us here.
The sudden shrill of the fire alarm makes me jump. Boris turns to Maksim. “Go check it out.”
Maksim obeys, leaving us alone with Boris and Silk Suit.
The odds are against us, but we have to try to stop this from happening. I look at Enya and gesture with my eyes to Silk Suit. Enya’s eyes tell me she understands. I know there’s very little chance what I’m about to do is going to work out. But I won’t go down without a fight.
I give Enya a nod, and the moment she swings her legs around to topple Silk Suit off her feet, I flip the table.
It takes Boris by surprise, and his gun falls to the floor.
We both go for it at the same time, but I’m smaller and faster, and I reach it first. I hold it up, but I don’t have any idea what I’m doing with it.
Silk Suit gets Enya in a chokehold, so I point it at her. “Let her go.”
“Or what, you’re going to shoot me?”
Enya elbows her in the solar plexus to break free. With a growl, Silk Suit goes for the gun concealed in an ankle holster, so I shoot her.
Honestly, I don’t mean to shoot her. It’s almost a reflex action. It gets her in the leg, and I watch with wide eyes as blood begins to spill down her silky pants. It’s enough to stop Boris from lunging at me. He steps back, arms high. But I know it’s only a matter of time before Maksim comes running back in, so I grab Enya, and we both flee down the stairs leading to the parking lot. I hear yelling behind us. Heavy boots clomp along the deck, and I aim the gun and just start firing randomly to buy us some time. In a matter of minutes, this place will be swarming with Boris’ men.
When we reach the parking lot, we stop briefly so I can untie Enya‘s hands. She rips the gag out of her mouth. “Those motherfuckers, we should have shot them all.”
“There will be plenty of time for that later.” When Lev hears about this, he will rain fire and brimstone down on his uncle and cousin.
That’s when I think about Feliks. Is he involved with this too? Did he conspire with his father and brother to murder Lev?
I look around in a panic for an escape route. The parking lot is empty, and I don’t know what to do. I hear the fire alarm stop and voices shouting inside the restaurant. They’re coming, and we’ve got no way of getting out of here.
It’s then I hear the screech of tires and the roar of a car engine, and I turn and see a car barrel toward us. It stops with a skid in front of us, and inside is Vadim. I take a step back.
No.
“Get in,” he demands.
Both Enya and I make a run for it. And I hear Vadim growl as he chases after us in the car. He comes roaring past us and blocks our exit out of the parking lot. I aim the gun at him, but it’s empty.
He pulls his weapon on Enya and me, and I’m pretty sure his has bullets in it. “Get in the fucking car.”
I want to cry. We’ve come so far only to be stopped just before we reach freedom.
Enya and I do as he tells us to, and we climb in the car. Vadim barely waits for us to close the doors before he roars out of the parking lot and onto the road.
I look behind us as Boris and his men descend onto the parking lot.
Did Vadim just save us?
I turn to look at the old Russian.
“You’re not taking us back to Boris?”
His face is unreadable as he looks at me.
His phone rings, and I watch as he brings it to his ear. “I found them.”
42
LEV
I meet Vadim under the bridge on the waterfront. When he pulls up, Brooke opens the back door of the car and rushes toward me, flinging herself in my arms and holding me tight.
It’s only now I realize I’ve been holding my breath.
“Oh God, I was so scared,” she cries into my neck.
I tighten my arms around her. Me too.